Two years ago, almost to the day, I broke up with the most toxic girl I've ever dated, let's call her Bailey. I was 16, horny, dumb, impulsive, and I jumped into something way too fast without even getting to know her. She was traumatized, and very mentally ill, and she dumped a lot of that onto me. She manipulated me through sex and intimacy, and I've spent the last two years pushing it down and struggling with women as a result.

I have this friend, let's call her Zoey. I met her about the same time as I broke up with Bailey. Zoey is gorgeous, and we hit it off immediately. We've always liked each other, but for one reason or another, we were never compatible. She had a boyfriend, or I was seeing a girl, or she was still getting over a breakup, or I wasn't in the right place mentally etc. Finally the time came when we were both in a good spot for it.

I'm not great with "making moves" (mostly cause of the Bailey relationship), so I really just had to be vulnerable and talk to her about it. I told her that I liked her, and I want to go on dates with her and see if something works out, but I'm struggling with some of the stuff I buried from my relationship with Bailey. She felt the same, and was actually really cool with a lot of my insecurities around dating from Bailey. We spent the night talking, joking around, and snuggling to a movie. I'm really starting to like her.

But I am a bit scared of getting too attached again, and jumping into something too fast. I tend to be an over thinker, and a tad impulsive. I don't want to loose myself or my path in life to a relationship again.

How do I keep things alive, spontaneous, and fun, without becoming clingy or overbearing? Should I stay in touch when we're apart, or just use text/calling to set up more times to go out? How do I avoid overthinking it? (As I can already feel myself doing in this post haha) I'm still young and inexperienced, just trying to figure this stuff out, and it's been a long time since I've properly dated someone. Any other general advice?